Way hay

Royals William and Catherine are now touring the Great White North, but I first journeyed there more than a decade ago.

An article in Smithsonian Magazine inspired my ten-day tour of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Until that photographic spread, I’m not sure that I even knew Nova Scotia was part of Canada (doh!).

I certainly knew a lot more when I left.

For instance, I knew why the women there all looked like LL Bean models, in fisherman sweaters and makeup-free, windblown faces. That’s because the wind blew really hard every day. Even if you put makeup on, it was gone in a matter of hours.

I also learned that Truro, Nova Scotia is where the tides turn…literally. The tide sweeps in from the Bay of Fundy and forces the Salmon River to flow in the opposite direction. Times are posted daily, and people bring their lawn chairs and sit and wait and watch.

It’s pretty cool.

And the last thing I learned in Nova Scotia that has stuck with me for a decade is the words to a song. I sang it in a pub in Halifax, and they’re different than the ‘official’ lyrics you might find posted online:

What do you do with a drunken sailor,What do you do with a drunken sailor,What do you do with a drunken sailor,Earl-eye in the morning!

Chorus:Way hay hang the bastardWay hay hang the bastardWay hay hang the bastardEarl-eye in the morning!